Where am I from and how has this impacted upon my writing life?

As a writer it is only natural to presume that when asked ‘what has influenced you and your work’ typically we would expect someone to say something along the lines of: ‘The books that we have read, the life style choices that we have made and the life experiences that we have had to face.’ This is all well and good but what if we were to turn this question on its head by asking ‘where am I from and how has this impacted upon my writing life?’ Do you think that your answer will remain the same?

Unfortunately for me, I can honestly say that my answer would not remain the same for my hometown has not influenced me in any way, shape or form. It has however, inspired me to become a writer. A writer for the wrong reasons.

I live in a little town called Eastleigh or as some may like to call it ‘Beastly Eastleigh’ (the name speaks for itself). It is a town which adopts a particularly negative stereotype. I think that this may be as to why when my parents discovered that I liked to read and write they strongly encouraged this. At the end of the day they wanted me to be a somebody. Not a nobody. Like Cheever, my parents acknowledged the fact that it is ‘status – self- respect and work that we thrive for. We live for money yet dream of a complete love.’ I find that this may be as to why within my work I tend to focus on creating a lot of characters that are unable to do a lot of things for this is a true reflection on me. My Society has held me back in more ways than one and this is why I like to write for those that think they can’t but don’t realise they can. 

Becoming a writer - Being a writer

How is it that I became a writer:

As a little girl I often felt secluded and isolated from the rest of my family. I felt that at times if I were to disappear into the shadows perhaps no one would even notice. If the truth be known I’d often look out for an unexpected hug but soon realised no such thing existed. Now that I am older and considerably much wiser (or I’d like to think so) I realise now that this was not in fact my parents fault. How can it be when giving birth to triplets?

Call it what you will this new ‘declaration of independence’ provided me with the opportunity to explore new ideas and to discover my new surroundings without out the constant ‘jibber jabber’ from my parents.  I decided that I liked this very much. As I independently grew more and more aware of my surroundings, as you would expect I discovered new things. I discovered that I had a passion for reading – something that I now decided would constantly flow throughout the blood in my veins. As a child who feared to express her own opinions, for the belief that her mother and father would simply ignore her, I reverted to reading all kinds of books. According to Edward P. Morgan ‘A book is the only place in which you can examine a fragile thought without breaking it, or explore an explosive idea without fear it will go off in your face.’ It was this sudden realisation that inspired me to become a writer for it was through reading books that enabled me to write down on paper what it is I wanted or felt I had needed to write in order to make people listen to me.